Tag Archives: alps

Facing WorldsOn my last hike this year I got to see an interesting scene where one mountainside was already in all its white glory while the other side was still in autumn mood.
Already during the hike - while gaining altitude - we noticed the beautiful transition from autumn to winter. There is so much to discover during change of seasons, I find it really satisfying to see and feel the annual change of seasons

Flooded by LightLast May I went on a short trip to the Elbsandsteingebirge - Sächsische Schweiz national park together with my friends Jan and Alex. We were quite lucky with the overall weather conditions, we had plenty of fog and sunsets and sunrises which were not too bad.
This picture has been taken on the most beautiful morning during the time we've been there, the landscape was literally flooded by warm light. I guess I'll look at this picture more often in the next couple of weeks when the weather here in Germany turns cold and gloomy.

Autumn WalkThis is a memory how autumn looked like close to my home in late October, now almost all trees have lost their leaves and winter has taken over. Everything looks bleak now, hence I can't wait for plenty of snow 😉
Are you already looking forward for winter?

First SnowThis is a rather abstract view from my last hike in the alps.
I liked how the gentle snow cover and the soft and fading dusk light emphasized the structure on the mountain surface.

Splashes of ColourAlthough autumn is currently at its peak in some areas of the Alps autumn is barely noticeable. On my last hike for the year last weekend I was intrigued by those very subtle autumn colour tones I found, they appear like splashes of colour here and there.

Heavenly Accommodation
There is nothing like slumbering below the heavenly nightskies in the mountains. I was lucky to have almost perfect conditions on our last night in the Italian Alps.

Paint the SkyThis is a glimpse of how winter looked like in the Dolomites close to the famous St. Johann chapel in Ranui a week ago. This area didn't have fresh snowfall for quite some time, almost all trees lost their precious white sugar coating.
To make up for that I brought some white back in the sky by shooting a star-trail composite.

Moonlight SonataWhen I was standing there I really almost dazzled by the strong light of the full moon and so my lens 😉
Unfortunately the weather was just not winterly enough to provide for scenic winter scapes. Recently the temperature was too high and there was also a lack of fresh snow so we returned earlier than planned from our trip.
The massif in the frame is Cimon della Pala. It is also called "The Matterhorn of the Dolomites" because of it's very similar shape.

Touched by the first lightSome weeks ago I enjoyed a tranquil night in the Alps and was blessed with magic warm light the next morning.
No matter how exhausting your hike and how freezing cold the night before was, those are the mornings which let you forget all the efforts and make them totally worth it 😉
What do you think about it, have you experienced a sunrise on a mountain summit before?

I’m happy to present you a new gallery, a dedicated gallery for my pictures of the European Alps!

Because I’ve been on a one week roadtrip through the Swiss, French and Italian Alps I also want to present you new pictures which appear in the Alps gallery:

Darkness and FrostDuring my recent trip to the Italian Alps I was also able to explore a glacier.
I'm always fascinated by the form and texture of glaciers, but also by its colour palette, essentially it's black and white with a turquise tint here and there. Glaciers are also mysterious places for me, they conceal secrets from thousands of years ago, they are well hidden below layers of ice which can be as thick as several hundred meters.
As always Alex was happy to volunteer as a model for this picture in order to get some sense of scale.

The ExplorerDuring our recent trip to the Alps Alex and me also had a stop in the Italian Alps.
Despite a rain shower the night before the weather was very diverse while still cooperative from a photographers point of view.
This is one of the more dramatic displays we got to see. What the viewer can't see is the drizzling rain which made shooting this scene very hard, like shooting in the spray of a waterfall. Fortunately Alex and I brought enough patience and microfibre cloth.

Silent Reflections 2On the same morning as in "Silent Reflections" we went on a glacier in order to get a top view of the area we already explored earlier. The view from there didn't offer many photogenic compositions but only walking on a glacier during the peaceful morning hours was an exciting experience for sure!
While walking there I discovered this intriguing foreground in the small glacier lake which immediately grabbed my attention.

Goodbye Blue SkyWhile hiking in the Italian Alps together with my friend Alex we were blessed with very interesting weather and light. Although it was raining every now and then we never got drenched but were able to witness breathtaking atmospheres, due to the ever-changing weather.

Let's conquer the SkyOn our last night in the French Alps we had fantastic conditions for night shots, despite the cloud on the right the sky and air was clear, the moon has set and temperatures dropped below 0°C. That's also why my camera froze while leaving it outside over night as already shown in a snapshot I uploaded earlier.
The display of stars was one of the best I've seen in central Europe for quite some time. I think being able to see starry skies like that is a privilege not all people can enjoy. They live in densely populated metropolitan areas where light pollution is keeping their eyes from seeing stars.
I hope my picture could bring a bit of happiness to those people, at least for a couple of seconds 😉
But you should still experience the real deal sometime, it's so much better to see it with your own eyes!

BleakOn the first day during our trip to the Alps we didn't have so much luck with the weather but at least we were blessed with some moody fog which I wanted to show with this shot. The guy on the other side of course is Alex.

Give Me MountainsIn the French Alps we were surrounded by several breathtaking mountain vistas, I was tempted to take many panorama shots and this is one of them. I'm intrigued by mountains, they challenge me, they always surprise me, and make me appreciate the wonders of nature. Mountains are my happy place - give me mountains 😉

Silent Reflections 1A tranquil morning in the Italian Alps. Those are the moments you long for during busy and hectic days in daily life. Fortunately I brought back home pictures which give me a relaxing feeling as if I was standing there right now, hearing nothing but the peaceful silence of a sunrise in the mountains. I hope this works for you too!